John Woodruff ’74

13 October 2017
John Woodruff

Class: 1974

Major: History

Residence: San Diego, CA

Deceased: June 28, 2017

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  • 2018-06-03 18:56:49
    Marc Cohen '74

    Jack was my room mate sophomore year and we had adjoining singles senior year. We stayed pretty close for 20 years or so after Carleton, and then were in sporadic contact more recently, mainly through social media. He was a great wit, and frequently self-deprecating, particularly about his West Virginia roots. I will miss him!

  • 2024-03-12 18:50:21
    Richard Armstrong, Jr.

    Jack and I were both billeted on 4th Meyers as freshmen and we remained friends for all four years. He was, in my opinion, one of Carleton's great characters. His West Virginia drawl was unlike any accent I've ever heard. If I recall correctly, Jack's father was the Special Agent in Charge of the Charleston office of the FBI, the top G-Man in West Virginia so to speak, I don't think many of his Carleton friends knew that. But Jack had a decidedly non-FBI appearance. He decorated his unusual face by growing his sideburns so long that they came together underneath his chin. "That's not a beard," I'd say to Jack, "that's just weird." Nowadays, of course, it wouldn't be considered the least bit unusual. Jack was part of of a little dining club we had in Evans our senior year which included Marc Cohen, Jim Dean, Bill Lang, Pat Walkup, John Bullion, and me. But it was Jack who gave us the (now ironic) name of "The Thanatopsis Society." I think we were written up in the 'Tonian once but I have no idea why. We spent most of our time threatening each other with forks. I only talked to Jack once after college. Out of the blue 20+ years after graduation he telephoned me at three o'clock in the morning. He wanted to talk about a relationship problem he was having, but I kept trying to explain to him that Washington, DC and Los Angeles were in different time zones. He was drunk-dialing old friends, I suppose. Can't blame him for that. But I regret that I didn't wake myself up and spend more time talking to him. Now I can't. Rest In Peace, Jack. You were one of a kind.

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